Marjory Stoneman Douglas was an American journalist, author, and pioneering environmental activist best known for transforming how the world views the Florida Everglades.

Who Was Marjory Stoneman Douglas?

  • Born April 7, 1890, in Minneapolis; died May 14, 1998, at age 108.
  • Worked as a writer and editor for the Miami Herald, which her father helped found.
  • Became a leading voice for women’s suffrage, racial equality, and environmental protection.

She’s often called the “Guardian” of the Everglades for her decades‑long fight to save them.

Why She’s Famous

Defender of the Everglades

  • Her 1947 book The Everglades: River of Grass reframed the Everglades from a “worthless swamp” into a unique, fragile ecosystem that needed protection.
  • The book helped shift public opinion and supported the creation and strengthening of Everglades National Park and broader conservation policies.

Activism and Organizations

  • In 1969, at age 79, she founded Friends of the Everglades , a grassroots group to oppose destructive development (such as a proposed nearby jetport) and to advocate for restoration.
  • She remained an outspoken critic of drainage, overdevelopment, and pollution in South Florida well into her 90s, giving public speeches despite failing eyesight.

Broader Social Advocacy

  • Early in life, she supported women’s right to vote and campaigned for racial justice in Miami, including work on housing and basic services in segregated neighborhoods.
  • She used her platform as a writer and editor to push for social reforms, not just environmental causes.

Career as Writer and Journalist

  • Started at the Miami Herald as a society columnist, then became an editorial writer and later book review editor.
  • Wrote more than 100 short stories for popular magazines, often set in Florida and the Caribbean.
  • Published novels and non‑fiction on Florida’s landscapes, wildlife, and people, helping build a literary picture of South Florida long before it was widely known.

Example: After leaving the Herald in the 1920s due to “nervous fatigue,” she supported herself through freelance fiction that appeared in major magazines and earned national recognition, including an O. Henry Prize placement.

Honors, Legacy, and the School Name

  • Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 for her environmental work.
  • Inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
  • Her Miami home in Coconut Grove is now a National Historic Landmark, reflecting her role in Florida history.
  • Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is named in her honor, to recognize her impact on Florida’s environment and public life.

Since the tragic 2018 mass shooting at that high school, her name has also become linked to national conversations about gun violence, school safety, and youth activism, alongside her original legacy as a conservationist.

Quick SEO‑Style Scoop (for your “post”)

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    Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a journalist, author, and environmental activist whose book The Everglades: River of Grass helped save the Everglades and inspired ongoing advocacy for conservation and social justice.

TL;DR: Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a long‑lived, sharp‑tongued Florida writer who turned a “swamp” into a symbol of environmental value and left her name on a high school, a movement, and the modern fight to protect the Everglades.

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